Lagos, Nigeria - President Goodluck Jonathan's declaration that fuel subsidy must go, rising unemployment figures and the growing number of private jets were the main stories in the Nigeria media this week. The NATION, under the headline 'Jonathan: fuel subsidy to go', reported that Nigerians were Thursday told to brace up for a full deregulation of the petroleum industry’s downstream sector, although prices currently range from 100 Naira per litre to 110 Naira and 130 Naira (150 Naira = US$1) in many states – no thanks to supply problems. For this all other major stories click read more.....
According to the NATION, 'The situation may get worse – price-wise – going by President Goodluck Jonathan’s speech Thursday while receiving the report of the graduating participants of the Senior Executive Course 34, 2012 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, at the Presidential Villa.'
In President Jonathan's views, the paper reported, full deregulation of the downstream sector is the solution to the current fuel shortage.
According to Jonathan, 'The popular thinking is that deregulation will bring higher prices; the government insists it will not. The policy says the government will ensure regular supply and free some cash to rebuild the country’s infrastructure.'
To Jonathan, to attract investors, who will build refineries and end importation of petroleum products, subsidy must go.
The government, in January 2012, announced the deregulation of the sector, but its action, which pushed up petrol price, was greeted by massive protests. The plan was dropped, with fuel price rising to 97 Naira per litre from the previous price of 65 Naira.
The PUNCH had two stories on subsidy during the week under the headlines 'Total fuel subsidy removal is a must – Jonathan' on Friday, and 'NLC warns Jonathan against fuel price hike' on Saturday.
The paper reported that the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) had warned the Federal Government against any surreptitious move to increase the price of petroleum products in the country.
It said that the NLC President, Mr. Abdulwahed Omar, warned in a statement on Friday that any increase in the price of fuel would lead to a crisis as the congress would call out Nigerians to resist it, indicating that an increase would culminate in a crisis that would surpass last January's anti-fuel price hike demonstration.
Omar called on President Jonathan to focus government attention on the need to frontally tackle the corruption that had held the nation’s oil sector hostage, saying the President should ensure the prosecution of those indicted for subsidy fraud and the diversion of 1.7 trillion Naira funds meant for the industry, rather than venturing into a total removal of petroleum subsidy.
THISDAY also headlined its story 'NLC Cautions against Fuel Price Hike,' while the VANGUARD called it 'Another fuel hike ‘ll collapse your govt, NLC warns Jonathan.'
In its second story under the headline 'Jonathan: Removing Fuel Subsidy Will Attract Foreign Investors,' the VANGUARD reported 'The argument for a complete removal of fuel subsidy re-emerged yesterday (Friday) as President Goodluck Jonathan said it was the only way to attract investors to the petroleum sector.'
The paper quoted President Jonathan as saying his decision would also bring an end to the importation of petroleum products.
The GUARDIAN and THE PUNCH ran stories on the warning from the civil society that Nigeria is drifting.
According to the GUARDIAN, under the headline 'Nation drifting, civil society warns, seeks protests', 'The nation is on the brink of collapse and it requires the urgent intervention of all citizens, especially through protests, to rescue it.
'This was the position of civil society activists at the second Save Nigeria Group (SNG)’s State of the Nation lecture held in Lagos on Monday.'
The paper said that the blistering verdict was delivered by the convener of the SNG, Pastor Tunde Bakare, who urged Nigerians to immediately take to the streets and bring an end to corruption and bad governance which, he said, were seriously threatening the survival of the nation.
The PUNCH headline on the story was 'Bakare, el-Rufai, Melaye, others urge fresh protests'.
'Unemployment: Nigeria sitting on keg of gun-powder' was the headline of the VANGUARD on Saturday, treating the story on the rising unemployment figures in the country.
The paper said 'with an estimated 60 million unemployed persons representing nearly one-third of the country’s population, human capacity development is being seriously endangered.
'This situation is not only making a mockery of Nigeria’s so-called vision of becoming one of the 20 leading economies in the world by the year 2020, but also threatening national security as obviously the nation seems to be sitting on a keg of gunpowder likely to explode at any time with devastating consequences.
'But more astonishing is the recent disclosure by a human resource company, Employment Clinic, that the government spends 960 billion Naira annually on artisans from abroad to work in the country.'
The enormity of unemployment challenge, which has become a colossal one – a socio-economic affliction of great proportions, can be illustrated most vividly when out of the 13,000 applications received by the Dangote Group of Companies for Graduate Executive Truck Drivers, there were six Ph.D, 704 Masters and over 8,460 Bachelor degree holders, the paper said.
According to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, more than 41% of Nigerian graduates are without employment after the mandatory National Youth Service Corps.
The National Bureau of Statistics said over 50% of youths in Nigeria are jobless, while the World Bank puts the figure at 56%. Considering the country’s estimated population of about 167 million and 60 million jobless, these are grim figures portending danger to economic growth and development of a nation with the largest concentration of black people on earth.
The papers also ran stories on the ownership of private jets among Nigerian elites.
In its editorial column, The GUARDIAN, with the headline 'An epidemic of private jets', said the 'avalanche' of private aircraft in the country is nothing more than a manifestation of the endemic ostentation in the land, coupled with the flourishing of easy money, which unfortunately has defied the taxman.
It said that at virtually every airstrip and airport tarmac within the country today, there are private aircraft of every hue sitting in the sun and hangers, parked largely as an advertisement of the preferred travelling habits of the Nigeria’s elites.
It is estimated that private aircraft in the country have grown exponentially from about 20 in year 2000 to more than 150 currently.
Ownership of these vessels are ascribed to members of the political class, business organisations, religious leaders, business persons, and a number of state governments.
'This is most scandalous as the aircraft are used, not for public or commercial purposes, but to satisfy the private taste of the owners for comfort and luxury,' the paper said.
The NATION's headline on private jets was 'Aviation sector dying, private jets market booming'.
The paper said that with barely four functional airlines and less than 20 aircraft serving about 160 million Nigerians, the elite and government officials have embraced private jets and chartered flights as the solution to the nation’s ailing aviation industry.
Until recently, Nigerians could count on their fingers members of this exclusive club. They included oil companies, the Presidency and some individuals. But not anymore. Nigerians are losing count of their country men who own private jets -- Governors, politicians, legislators, religious leaders and top executives in telecommunications and banking, while those who do not own jets travel on chartered flights.
It said that the brand of planes the elite and government officials love include, but is not limited to, Hawker Siddley 125-800 and 900XP, Gulfstream 450, 550 and 650; Bombardier Challenger 604, 605; Global Express; Embraer Legacy and Falcons.
Aviation experts and industry watchers claim that the number of private jets could be over 200, many believe that figure is an exaggeration.
A foreign magazine, Forbes, recently claimed that in the last five years, Nigerians may have spent about US$6.5 billion or more buying private jets, and that there are more private jets in Nigeria than even comparatively richer African countries, such as South Africa, Egypt and others.
Forbes revealed that the craze for private jets rose by 650 per cent between 2007 and 2012.
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